Comedian Dave Chappelle stops by Catonsville BBQ restaurant, owner says

Comedian Dave Chappelle stopped by a Catonsville barbeque restaurant Friday night, the owner said.

“We had our first celebrity tonight. Dave Chappelle and his bodyguard came in for a bite to eat,” Mark Wieland, owner of Wieland's Barbeque on Frederick Road, said on Facebook.

But Wieland said he did not immediately recognize the actor and stand-up comedian.

“I’m embarrassed to say I did not recognize him, so I missed the photo op,” he said. But, other patrons at the restaurant did, Wieland said in an interview Saturday.

The two did have a brief exchange, where Chappelle spoke of “fondness for scotch bonnet sauce,” Wieland said.

Before he left, Chappelle also praised the restaurant’s beans as being “off the chart,” Wieland said. The beans are spicy and have brisket added to them, he said.

A Chappelle sighting isn’t surprising given that he’s been campaigning for Democratic candidate Ben Jealous who is running again Gov. Larry Hogan.

On Saturday, the Jealous campaign said Chappelle and actress and activist Rosario Dawson were scheduled to attend events. At 11 a.m., Jealous officials scheduled a “Get-Out-The-Vote Rally” in Montgomery County and a “picnic, parade and rally,” at 3:30 p.m. in Woodlawn.

To mark his first celebrity sighting at the year-old restaurant, Wieland said he’s offering half-off baked beans with any sandwich through Nov. 10.